Chapter 1: B

What an odd place.

Roads made out of mushy asphalt just seemed so backwards. How would a car drive on the streets? How did they build there? It just seemed weird. I know I wouldn’t make a road out of mushy asphalt.

What an odd place.

My basket swayed with every step I took, and the pile of bananas inside moved around as if they were scared.

“Don’t worry bananas! Izzaker protects!” My smile grew across my face. Izzaker! How perfect he was! “Izzaker protects!” I shouted again, as a warm breeze blew past my cheeks. He couldn’t be far. He never was! Because then seeing him would be impossible. And nobody would like that. Not seeing Izzaker is like not eating bananas. Nobody would like that. The dirt beneath my feet felt cool, and the occasional blades of grass wrapped around my feet like a banana peel. I want a banana. The banana in my hand would do, I decided, and I ate it in one gulp.

Not long after, the sun began to go down, and the air became much cooler. But the end of a day wouldn’t stop me! It wouldn’t stop Izzaker! I walked on through the field when I suddenly thought of a fun song. I should sing it! You have to sing songs after all! That’s why it’s called songing, I think.

“Hup, two, three, four! It’s bananas that I adore! Five, six, seven, eight! It is bananas that I ate!” I sang loudly into the empty field before me. I bet Izzaker would love that song! What if he heard it then? Oh wow, that would be amazing! But what if he didn’t?! I should sing it again. “Hup, two, three, four! It’s bananas that I adore! Five, six, seven, eight! It is bananas that I ate!” I’m sure he heard it that time.

… But what if he didn’t?

My singing was stopped late into the night, right at the entrance of a dark forest. I was just far enough away that the big person behind me blocked off the light from the path’s entrance.

“Give us all your money!” Said the other man in front of me. He was kinda short. Short was such an odd thing. Like, why are some people shorter than other people? Aren’t people people? Why is the word even short? I think it should be fruttle. The fruttle man in front of me told me to give him something. Probably a banana, because who doesn’t want a banana?

“-ALL YOUR MONEY!” The fruttle man shouted. I forgot he was still there.

“Huh, what? Sorry, I wasn’t listening Mr. Fruttle.” I replied, while reaching back for another banana. The man looked confused for a moment.

“Don’t move that arm one more inch, little man”, said the man behind me slowly.

“But I want a banana.”

“And we want your money, pass it over!” The fruttle man seemed annoyed. Probably because fruttle is a weird word. Why is the word even fruttle? I think it should be short. Short is a fun word.

“I don’t have any money”, I shrugged, and grabbed a banana.

The man boomed behind me. Something about not moving, I wasn’t really listening. The fruttle man in front of me was shouting too. Or was he short? I couldn’t remember. I closed my eyes to think about it. He definitely wasn’t tall. The guy behind me was. I think. Or was he the short one? I opened my eyes and looked behind me. Oh, he was fruttle. So the guy in front of me was short. Or was he tall? Oh, right, he was fruttle. No, that’s not it. I scratched my chin. This was gonna be a long night.